SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — The Parkland School District is considering new building projects that will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Parkland School Board on Tuesday night reviewed cost estimates for building projects that would address potential school overcrowding, with figures ranging from about $169 million to $391 million.
- Building projects that would address potential overcrowding in the Parkland School District will cost between $169 million and $391 million, according to estimates
- The district has three potential options for paths forward, including building a ninth grade center and creating a new school for eighth- and ninth-graders
- The school board also recognized many Parkland students for their accomplishments at Tuesday’s meeting
Representatives from RLPS Architects presented the data. The firm is conducting a feasibility study called Vision 2030, analyzing enrollment projections and the options for the district moving forward.
The study has identified three potential options. Option one is building a ninth-grade center, either as an addition to the high school or as a separate building, and building a new middle school.
Option two is building a new school for just eight- and ninth-graders. Option three is building an additional high school and either building a new middle school or expanding the current middle schools.
Superintendent Mark Madson said at a town hall meeting that building a new high school is “probably not feasible” because of the cost, and it could lead to inequities between the high schools.
The representatives said the administration will have a recommendation for which option the board should choose by July; the board is expected to make a decision by September.
Estimated costs and timelines
The firm representatives estimated adding a ninth-grade wing to the current high school would cost between about $67 million and $79 million.
Building a separate ninth-grade center would cost between about $92 million and $120 million, partially depending on whether the new building would include spaces for other district uses.
Both versions of the ninth-grade center would likely be complete around the end of 2027, according to an estimated timeline.
The new middle school that would be built along with the ninth-grade center would cost between $137 million and $163 million, with an estimated time of completion of the end of 2028.
Option one’s total estimated cost is between $203 million and $291 million. The firm is looking into expanding the current middle schools instead of building a new one, which could reduce the price.
“Whatever the final version of this option will be, we’ll make sure that it’s enhancing that ninth grade student experience."RLPS Architects representative Andy Blaydon
RLPS Architects representative Andy Blaydon said the firm and the administrative team still need to look into which of the potential versions of the ninth-grade center would better serve students.
“Whatever the final version of this option will be, we’ll make sure that it’s enhancing that ninth-grade student experience, which is very important for your students’ development — we’ve identified that with your administrative team,” Blaydon said.
Option two — building a new school for eighth- and ninth-graders — has an estimated cost between about $169 million and $201 million, with an estimated completion by the end of 2028. The firm representatives said the new building would be located somewhere central in the district.
Option three, which the representatives said will not likely be their recommendation, would cost between $328 million and $391 million total.
Student recognition
At the beginning of the meeting, the school board recognized many Parkland students for their accomplishments.
The board recognized students who won medals at the Delaware Valley Science Fair, which were Springhouse Middle School students Adwik Banerjee and Ayush Jalani, as well as Parkland High School students Katherine Gilchrist, Vedant Malik, Anish Pallod and Jerry Wang.
The board also recognized students who received perfect scores on their Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science projects: Adwik Banerjee, Veda Gandhi, Adita Ghalsasi, Ayush Jalani, Yihan Li, Aaditri Suresh, Vivian Xu, Daichi Yamashita, Derek Yao and Muhammadali Husain.
Also recognized was the Springhouse Middle School Science Olympiad team, which won the Pennsylvania State Championship in April and won medals in the national championship.
Members of the team are Neha Atchyuthuni, Adwik Banerjee, Vibha Borkar, Soumyadeep Das, Shri Desai, Shagun Dholakia, Twisha Gandhi, Mehek Garg, Karthika Kuppala, Sisira Kota, Kevin Lu, Areesha Mariyam, Gaurav Perugu, Harshita Rajeshkumar Keerthi, Guhan Sathish, Shreemay Shah, Anthony Wang, Kelly Wang, Jerry Wang and Ken Zeng.
Student coaches of the team include Varsha Borkar, Evan Lan, Riva Kaneria, Jayaditya Kothari, Sanika Kothari, Aadhavan Raja Nainar, Varun Pandian, Sam Rohatgi, Daud Tariq and Sooraj Tharumia.
The school board also recognized first- and second-place winners for their National History Day projects, including Springhouse Middle School students Veda Gandhi, Caitlyn Brown, Hannah Fries, Jordan Silver, Eklavya Rai, Rohan Yanala, Greeshma Konda, Areesha Maryam, Aarna Pandey, Shravani Shelke, and Manisha Bharathram, as well as Parkland High School students Vidhi Desai and Aum Purani.
Lastly, the board recognized first-place winner of the Pennsylvania Media Design Competition, Soorag Tharumia.
Teachers recognized included Brian Holtzhafer, Kaitlyn Heintzelman, Dan Christman, Troy Minarovic, Sammi Jo Eckhart, Calliope Volikas and Josh Abrams.
Other business
The board also voted to officially adopt the 2023-24 budget, which includes a 2.5% millage rate increase. The board approved the budget at its last meeting.
The district announced Andy Stephens will be promoted from Social Studies Teacher/Assistant Athletic Director to Athletic Director after current athletic director Bill Dreisbach retires at the end of the summer. Stephens will have to resign as Parkland's boys basketball coach — a job he has held the last 15 years.
